The New York native is making her Broadway debut in "Chicago."
The name on everybody's lips is going to be...Alyssa. She's stepping into the iconic shoes of Roxy Hart.
While you likely know her from TV and film, Milano's roots are in theater.
The star is ready to charm audiences as the curtain has officially risen for her in "Chicago."
"To see my picture under 'Chicago' is just like, dreams really do come true. Everyone keep dreaming. Dream big. But there are little things that each actor who plays Roxy tweaks, which I had no idea about. So, so we just had a great time with that," Milano said. "And I think the thing that was so important to Ann Reinking when she choreographed it was just knowing that different actors were going to take on this role. And how they can alter the choreography for each actor and their strengths. So, we've, you know, the making of Roxy, that's what I keep calling it every day. I am like, well, what are we going to discover today about her?"
It's a character that Milano says she feels empowered playing.
"Well, I think that she really was and the way I'm looking at the character is she's a feminist, right? She is a true, something happened to her. She, she got famous for maybe, you know, things she shouldn't have gotten famous for, but she is taking advantage of it. She's ambitious. She always, again, dreamed big," Milano said. "My mom used to say never stop chasing your moonbeams. And so, when I look at Roxy, I think she's someone who never stopped chasing her moonbeams. And I think as the show progresses, the thing that's so special is that she forms this alliance with Velma."
Milano said that she's had many Velma's in the business throughout her career.
"I've been so blessed. I've been so blessed. I mean, Judith Light. Who has always been iconic, just the most supportive. And of course, Katherine Helmond, may she rest in peace. But I was so blessed to grow up on 'Who's the Boss?' and have Judith, who is such, first of all, we used to joke that she could cry one eye at a time. She's so brilliant. It is, it is mind-boggling. So to have that professionalism to emulate was, yeah. So beneficial. But also just such a warm, kind person. And also, you know, an activist, you know, from the very beginning, beginning. So I was raised looking at her saying, oh, this is what you do when you're a celebrity. You use your name for causes that are important to you. Yeah. So yeah, I would say even there is a huge age difference because I was just a kid. I think she was very, very important in my life. I'm very blessed. And to still be doing this, you know, 40 years later is a blessing. It really is," Milano said.
Although a veteran actress, Milano said it was "terrifying" in all the right ways to take on Broadway.
"My daughter, who's now in musical theater she's 10, she came over to me and she said Mom, you're going to be on Broadway. And I started crying, you know, obviously. And I was like, so, what have I done? You know, and I said, we had this big family meeting with my parents and my kids and my husband and all the, all the people, the dogs. And I was like, I don't know if I could do this guys. I don't know if I can leave everybody. And it just seems really daunting. And my daughter with a totally straight face looked at me and she went, 'You'd be an idiot not to do this,'" she said.
"Are you ready to see your name in lights?" Eyewitness News Entertainment Reporter Joelle Garguilo asked.
"Woo! I don't know," Milano said. "Yes. You know, I did that. And I will be able to do that. And I will be able to have said, you know what? We and I can look at my kids and say to them, we can do hard things. Yeah. We can do things we never did before or never even thought we'd do before. And our dreams can come true. And, I think that the biggest gift is to be able to look at them and say, stick with it. Dreams come true. You got to just stick it, stick it out."
You can catch watch Milano in "Chicago" through November 10 at the Ambassador Theatre.
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